Baroque & Roll: Austria market report – part 2
IQ presents the second part of our Austria market report, where we dig into their expansive festival sector and the shifting opportunities and challenges in the venue scene. Catch up on part one here.
Festivals
In the past couple of years, Arcadia Live’s Lido Sounds has quickly established itself as a fresh addition to Austria’s festival offerings: a genre-specific city festival beside the scenic Danube River in Linz, with Kings of Leon, Parov Stelar, Hozier, Deichkind, Sam Smith, The Libertines, and Idles on the bill this year across four days.
“The response has been encouraging,” says Potocki. “In 2023, we welcomed 66,000 fans, and 2024 saw even greater attendance. Looking ahead, we’re planning to expand capacity to 28,000 per day in 2025, creating opportunities for sustainable growth while gradually enhancing our environmental footprint. While we’re not a 100% green event yet, we’re committed to making meaningful progress each year, embracing innovative ideas to become more eco-conscious.”
No sensible festival launches in these tricky times without thinking hard about its model and its market position, and Arcadia Live has done plenty of that type of thinking.
“Lido Sounds offers a unique festival experience compared to traditional open-field events,” says Potocki. “It blends the culture and convenience of a city setting with the excitement of a diverse and carefully curated lineup. So far, we’ve brought a lot of incredible artists to the stage – and the momentum continues to build. As for the future, we remain open to exploring new opportunities while staying focused on delivering a memorable, inclusive, and continuously improving festival experience.”
Traditionally, Barracuda assumes a notably powerful position in Austria’s festival market with its Nova Rock and FM4 Frequency events. The former draws 55,000 a day over four days to Pannonia Fields in Nickelsdorf in June, with Green Day, Avenged Sevenfold, Måneskin, and Bring Me The Horizon on a heavyweight bill.
“We have seen a lot of competition this year that we did not have in the past”
Frequency, meanwhile, in the northeastern city of St Pölten, draws around 140,000 a year for a dance, rock, and hip-hop fusion – Apache 207, The Offspring, Rise Against, and Yungblud led the line-up this August, with Ed Sheeran on the same site the night before.
Other Barracuda events include Lovely Days, Clam Rock, and an ever-growing series of shows at the historic Clam Castle, one of Austria’s most popular and prestigious venues. This year, the promoter also inked a three-year partnership with the long-established Mörbisch Lake Festival to bring rock and pop artists to the site’s 6,100-cap lake stage, with James Blunt and Zucchero in this summer’s first crop.
“We have seen a lot of competition this year that we did not have in the past, like Live Nation’s Rolling Loud festival and the Lido festival from Arcadia,” says Hörmann. “So, there is more in the market, but all the festivals seem to sell well.”
Venues
In early November, CTS Eventim was awarded the contract to build and operate a new multipurpose arena in Neu Marx in Vienna’s third district. The win came after Oak View Group’s successful bid for the project was “declared void for formal reasons” by Vienna Regional Court in summer 2023, after an objection from CTS.
The opening of the 20,000-cap arena – which expects up to 1.2m visitors, with as many as 145 events annually – was originally planned for 2024, but the venue is now not expected to be completed until 2030 at the earliest.
“Vienna will secure its position as a must-play city for the world’s greatest stars and events for decades to come”
The estimated cost of the 100,000m2 CTS design reportedly comes to almost €800m, including a contribution from the city of €145.9m. The property will be owned by the City of Vienna’s Wien Holding organisation, which drives growth and creates jobs for the city.
“With this state-of-the-art venue, Vienna will secure its position as a must-play city for the world’s greatest stars and events for decades to come,” said city councillor Peter Hanke.
Promising arena news aside, in general, it is hard to extract much enthusiasm from Austrian promoters on the subject of venues. “We have a very, very bad venue situation,” says Hörmann. “If you compare Vienna to Munich, for instance, Munich has, I would think, seven, eight venues from 3,000 to 15,000. In Vienna, you have the Stadthalle, and the next venue is Gasometer B with 3,000. So that’s a nightmare.
“And obviously, everywhere is packed. If you look at the Stadthalle, they have a tennis tournament every October, so that doesn’t give us any availability for the whole month. So just this year, I lost Bob Dylan because I just couldn’t get the venue. And if you still have an act that is expecting to work, then you have to go to Graz or to Linz, and people have to travel.”
That’s not the only problem with Austrian live infrastructure, however, as Viennese promoters continue to wrangle with a new noise restriction that is spelling doom for outdoor concerts in the city.
In August, Arcadia Live warned that a 10pm curfew at could mean the end for its annual METAStadt Open Air concert series. The 8,100-cap site had initially filled a gap for open-air concerts with mid-tier artists, for whom the Arena Wien’s 3,000-capacity outdoor stage is too small and the 51,000-capacity Happel Stadium too big. The series has hosted international acts including Alt-J, The Kooks, Skunk Anansie, Korn, Patti Smith, Jungle, and Khruangbin, and its future remains in doubt.
“Racino is probably one of the most beautiful open-air locations in Austria”
“Noise restrictions and complaints from local residents continue to be significant challenges for open-air events,” says Potocki. “This is often compounded by a lack of political and financial support from city or district authorities, which would be incredibly valuable given the proven economic impact of live shows and open-air events.
“Resolving these issues requires more proactive collaboration with local stakeholders. Until then, navigating these restrictions will remain a challenge for our events in Vienna, including the METAStadt series.”
METAStadt, of course, isn’t the only venue affected. In fact, it’s easier to name those that aren’t. “The Danube Island and the Ernst Happel Stadium are currently the only open-air sites [in Vienna] that meet the strict criteria,” says Live Nation’s Rotermund. “Noise restrictions recently led to the cancellations of all planned events at the scenic Schönbrunn Palace in 2025, and there are similar challenges elsewhere.”
The palace, once the main summer residence of the Habsburgs, and located in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna, has been a popular concert spot since the 1990s, but in November, Semmel’s Show Factory announced the cancellation of all open-air concerts and musicals planned at the palace for 2025 due to the noise regulations. The decision affected its I Am From Austria musical and the Schönbrunn Classics series and followed penalties for previous noise violations.
Live Nation’s exclusive contract to use the Racino racetrack, 25 minutes from the city by train, seemed to be a smart way round the curfew. The promoters initially hoped to organise smaller 5,000 to 10,000-cap events at the site, as well as larger concerts for up to 60,000 attendees, but such plans remain under review. “Racino is probably one of the most beautiful open-air locations in Austria,” says Lieberberg. “The proximity to Vienna adds to the appeal.
“Our inaugural events were extremely successful, with a combined attendance of 150,000. However, numerous bureaucratic requirements, particularly exaggerated environmental regulations, present challenges and obstacles for future events, which need to be evaluated.”
“There has definitely been a slower return to normal after the post-Covid surge”
Among the major venues outside the capital, Messe Congress Graz (MCG), with its 14,520-cap Stadthalle, Messe Graz Open Air and six other venues, stages 400-plus events a year.
“2024 has been a good year for events in Graz and Austria overall, but there has definitely been a slower return to normal after the post-Covid surge,” says Christof Strimitzer, MCG head of marketing and communications. “One of the key challenges has been the high energy and personnel costs, which have made organising events more difficult.”
While the overall atmosphere was tough, says Strimitzer, a strong focus on family entertainment yielded highlights such as Cavalluna, The Ice Queen, and live music concerts including The Lion King and Avatar. “International shows have shown a slight decline in attendance,” he adds. “One standout moment of the year was the sold-out performance of Gigi D’Agostino, which attracted 14,500 people and was sold out in just 24 hours.”
Messe Graz is currently in the process of obtaining the Green Location eco-label, reflecting its commitment to sustainability and environmentally-friendly practices. “We are also working on introducing new formats in the outdoor area to enhance the visitor experience and expand our event offerings,” says Strimitzer.
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